January 2023: Racism in and through Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools

Meeting Facilitators: Dr. Ron Darvin, Anastasia Zhuravleva, and Sadia Shad

In this online meeting of LLED Antiracist Caucuses (IBPOC/Racialized Caucus & White Caucus), we will discuss racism in and through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital tools that are part of our everyday lives. We will explore how can we develop a critical awareness of unconscious biases embedded in technology, and in what ways language and literacy education can contribute toward addressing these issues.

Stimulus Texts:

Please watch the following video before our meeting on Friday, January 27th, 1:30 – 3:00 PM.

Optional Stimulus Texts:

If you have time, please also take a look at the following (optional) stimulus texts:

Discussion Questions:

  1. Before our meeting, please take a few moments to look over and reflect on the following discussion questions:
  2. What do you think are the major implications of this issue in our everyday life?
  3. Because algorithms are proprietary, it can be difficult to detect racial biases and our own experiences of being racialized online. How do you think can we develop a critical awareness of such biases in the technologies we use?
  4. While most solutions to addressing such racial biases in technology involve technical processes, how can language and literacy education contribute to addressing this issue?